


Slow Motion, Double Vision and a Rose Blush

by superlxthor



Category: The Wilds (TV 2020)
Genre: F/F, Nora Lives!, all the girlies are in it, an essence of dotin, bit gorey you’ve been warned, fluffy shoni moment, my imagined continuation of the shark scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 15:49:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28602471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superlxthor/pseuds/superlxthor
Summary: hi! this is basically just my imagined version of how it would go down after the shark attack.hope u enjoy :)
Relationships: Shelby Goodkind/Toni Shalifoe
Comments: 12
Kudos: 111





	Slow Motion, Double Vision and a Rose Blush

LEAH  
A crude uncertainty passed over the group. Leah dragged her eyes away from the water to look around at the girls on the shore. A series of slow motion snapshots flew across her consciousness as she processed the looks on her friends’ faces. Toni stood next to Shelby, their hands clasped together tightly, a meeting of jagged nails and dirty acrylics. Shelby’s other hand shook as it rested splayed across her forehead. Leah couldn’t see her eyes but she assumed them to be watering. A little bit away, Martha’s hands were indecisively flailing to and from her mouth, her jaw falling slack like that of a gasping fish. Fatin stood to the left of Martha and from what Leah could see, her hands mimicked the same uncertain movements as her fingers laced tightly together and feeble whimpers jutted from her lips. Dot, who rarely had nothing to say, stood speechless, her arms limp at her sides as she stared toward the ocean. Watching.Waiting. 

The fire Leah had felt in her legs moments ago as she croaked out ‘don’t fucking move’ had since converted to a tremble. That tremble ran all the way up her spine and rested in her jaw which now quaked violently with shock. Her nostrils filled with the unpleasant metallic smell of blood on her chest. The wind whipped her tousled and begrimed hair in front of her face; strands of brown flicking in and out of her stare which she kept fixed on the bloody water. The savage rage that previously motivated each of her breaths had now dulled and was dissipating, like smoke on a stove. All she knew was watching the water. 

FATIN  
“Oh god, please,” Fatin whispered into her hands as the circumference of maroon began to expand in the water. It had been around thirty seconds since Nora went crashing into the waves after her sister and the bleached ends of her hair disappeared beneath the red ebbs.  
“Come on. Come on,” Dot chanted beside her. Cramps began to twist within her abdomen, each second that passed felt like another pair of hands reaching within her and squeezing her insides. The helplessness had starting weaving a web of entrapment around her oesophagus when Nora’s drenched head emerged from the deep. Several screams sounded around the group as Fatin saw Shelby lurch forward toward the shoreline. Before sparing a moment to think she found herself sprinting beside her, legs torpedoing towards the water. They hit the water together, splashing violently over the rolling tide until it got deep enough for them to start running on the ocean floor. Fatin threw a look back at the sound of more splashing to see Toni hurdling over the water, jumping over the waves like a world class athlete. Shelby was moving faster than ever, her arms swinging to and fro above her waist. Ahead of them Nora was scrabbling with a dark, sleek figure. One hand was wrapped around her sister whose head lulled weakly in the water, her other hand burst out of the water and pulled back before slamming down into the dark figure. The shark’s head. Fatin, having now processed the shark’s presence stopped dead in her tracks. A wave rolled and slapped her straight in the face. Toni dove under it and started paddling quickly towards Shelby, who ducked under another breaker. Fatin was transfixed with fear, her eyes searching the water ahead for the doomful creature. Toni and Shelby paddled closer to the sisters.  
“Swim Nora, Swim!” Shelby screamed ahead, her voice cracking on the vowels. Fatin pushed her feet off the sandy ocean floor and propelled herself closer to the action, despite the growing weight in her throat. She ducked under waves and thrust herself closer.  
“Pass her here!” Shelby yelled a few metres in front of Fatin. Fatin blinked salty water out of her eyes to witness Shelby grab Rachel’s body, her face contorted with fear. Fatin followed her eyes to Rachel’s hand, which was absent; instead, a bloody knob sprayed plasma into the water.  
“Bring her here!” Fatin yelled thrusting forward and grabbing hold of Rachel’s shoulder. Rachel’s eyes were shut as her head hung down in the water. From here on out, Fatin had never moved more swiftly in her life. She hooked an arm around Rachel’s torso and began to boost herself back into the waves. They carried her quickly as she held her friend tightly and moved closer to shore. Shelby was right behind her with a hand on Rachel’s leg, pushing her forward through the torrent, like a tender guiding a cruise ship through a harbour. Dot came barreling forward towards the three of them, turning Rachel over quickly and grabbing her under the arms. 

SHELBY  
Shelby threw a pedantic glance back towards Nora and Toni. An intense dread shot through her body as she saw they were not right behind her.  
“Toni!” She shrieked out as she began to hurdle back into the tide. Just ahead, her love fumbled aggressively in the water, her dark eyes down and her limbs underwater.  
“Toni!” She screamed again. Nora was treading water frantically to the right of Toni, yelling indecipherably. Toni seemed to be engaged with something in the water, ducking in and out, kicking up a storm. Shelby’s eyes burst wide open when she realised it was the shark she was scrabbling with.  
“Toni! Fucking swim!” She screeched at the top of her lungs. Toni snapped her head toward Shelby, her face flushed with terror.  
“I can’t! It won’t go-“ Her head ducked under the water as fast flurries of motion kicked out around her. Shelby’s heart was stampeding in her chest, her hands covered her mouth in despair. That’s when Toni shot out of the water, as if having kicked off of something and began paddling towards Shelby. Nora matched her speed, free styling aggressively away from the dark figure.  
“Fucking swim!” Shelby yelled as the pair darted quickly in the water, neither stopping to look back. Waist- deep in the waves, Shelby prepared to grab Toni. She was almost there, paddling rapidly alongside Nora. Shelby reached out her hand and grabbed onto Toni’s. 

TONI  
Toni took it and allowed her to pull her quickly. She stood in the now waist- deep water and began to sprint, Shelby’s hand wrapped fiercely around her own. Nora flashed past them, galloping towards the group where she dropped to her knees by her sister. Toni and Shelby were nearing the shore, kicking up whitewash as they ran. When they reached the ashy sand, they collapsed on it. Toni fell flat on her back and Shelby landed swiftly beside her on her knees, leaning over. They stayed like that for a moment, heaving laboured breaths in and out. Then, instantaneously, Shelby threw herself on top of Toni, tucking her arms around her and squeezing with all her strength. Toni lifted her head to see Shelby’s cheek pressed tightly into her chest, her wet and tousled hair damp on her neck. A small smile tugged the corners of her lips. She slipped her arms under Shelby’s, locked her elbows under her armpits and pulled her up closer until they were face to face. There were tears in Shelby’s eyes; her bottom lip shook as droplets fell onto Toni’s cheek.  
“Shelby what’s wrong?” Toni croaked out, overwhelmed by the sudden limpness she felt clutch her heart. The waver in Shelby’s lip grew more dramatic.  
“I thought you were gonna die.” Her voice cracked as more tears started to wet her cheeks. Toni frowned hard as she searched for the words to say. She wrapped two strong arms around her back and sat up, Shelby now sitting comfortably in her lap.  
“Hey, hey,” She cooed, wiping the tears from Shelby’s face. “You’re okay. I’m okay. We’re not going anywhere.” Shelby wrapped her arms around Toni’s neck and embraced her tightly. Toni wore her best grin. “I’m not done annoying you yet.” Then came Shelby’s smile. “Besides.” Toni started, casting a doom-ridden glance back toward the group. “We have bigger problems.” 

DOT  
Panic started to filter through Dot’s system like a plague, each muscle in her body shook with the heavy burden of responsibility. Hollers of disarray clapped around the group as everyone tried their best to help Rachel who lay like a dummy in the black sand, her head still in Nora’s lap with Martha’s grey t-shirt wrapped around her gaping wound. Nora held her arm firmly, elevating it above the heart. The blood seeped through effortlessly.  
“Does anyone have a belt?” Dot tried her best to sound calm. Martha lept up from her spot beside Rachel and ran for her suitcase. She rummaged recklessly with haste before triumphantly holding up a modest black belt. She ran back to Dot who was crouched on her knees by the fire and handed it to her. Dot stretched it out with a crack. It was a good length, actually the perfect length for what she needed to do. In front of her, Fatin sat with Rachel’s other arm propped on her knee and a vehement grip around her limp left hand. She glanced back at Dot for a moment, her eyes still lingering when Dot scooted closer to Rachel.  
“She needs Oxycodone, now.” She demanded, as Leah nervously ferreted through the translucent medicine bag. The bottle shook as she passed it to her. Dot ripped off the lid and tipped two small white tablets into her gritty palm.  
“Fatin, give these to her.”  
Fatin plucked the pills from her palm and turned back to Rachel who remained unconscious. Separating her lips with her slender fingers, she pushed the pills into her mouth.  
“Rachel, you gotta swallow,” she cooed down at the poor soul, lightly tapping her face with an open palm. Her eyes lulled once in response before a swallow travelled down her larynx. Good.  
“Now hold her arm still, this is gonna hurt.” Dot ordered as she began to wrap the belt just below the deep red cloth. She pushed the leather through the loop and fastened it as tight as she could; Dot knew the restriction of blood flow to be paramount to Rachel’s survival. This knowledge she held not only from watching extensive amounts of survival television, but from the plethora of pamphlets she would read in the hospital early on in her dad’s illness.  
“What do we do now Dot?” Martha’s voice wavered sickly along the question. Dot jammed her hands stressfully in her hair, grasping and running them through the knotted strands. 

An idea wandered into her head. An extreme idea. 

She had only ever seen it be done once, granted it was on survival TV. If it worked for the cast of Naked and Afraid, surely it would work for them right? She cast a nervous glance back toward Rachel, her face parylised with pain. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her chest raised and fell with quick grunts. As she anxiously observed Rachel, Toni and Shelby came stumbling over, muttering colourful curses between them.  
“Fuck, fuck what do we do?” Toni crouched beside Nora.  
“We need to take a vote,” Dot said, looking around the group, momentarily flashing back to the time they looked to her after finding the black box. Their faces were undoubtedly a lot calmer back then, legs crossed and elbows propped on knees. “I have an idea but it’s dangerous and might end up causing more harm than good if she doesn’t get to an actual doctor soon.”  
“What is it Dottie? Any idea is better than none at this point,” Shelby exasperatedly choked out, her hands methodically clutching Rachel’s thigh.  
“We cauterise the wound. It will stop her from bleeding out and eliminate any infection.”  
Martha’s eyebrows pinched together definitively. “Cauterise?”

NORA  
“It means we burn her hand.” Nora finally spoke, her voice small and edgy. Her eyes met with Dot’s and she could tell immediately there was no other solution. She dropped her gaze back to her sister’s severed hand; her heart trembled as the once-grey cloth turned a deeper and deeper red. She felt Leah’s eyes on her but couldn’t find the will to care about whatever vengeful thoughts may be racing through her scratch-covered head. Her conscious mind was occupied purely by the thick blood that was running down her sister’s arm and seeping into her dungarees. Her head started jerking quickly into an uneasy nod. “We have to do it.” Her stammers varied in volume.  
“Do we all vote yes?” Dot asked the group and was faced with a series of characteristically nervous nods.  
“Okay.” Nora watched as Dot held the axe over the fire, noticing how her hands shook a little as they grasped the wooden handle. Nora pushed her eyes around the group. Fatin held Rachel’s good hand and stroked her forehead gently. Martha and Leah sat beside each other, adjacent to the fire with dipped heads and heaving chests. Toni was beside her. She plunged her hands into the sand and pawed at the dark granules with great apprehension.  
Her gaze fell back upon the axe. She watched as the silver blade began to turn red, like a hot poker; Dot was tuning it over in her hands.  
“Okay, it’s ready,” She said, bringing it away from the flames and turning to face Nora. Her eyes dropped to Rachel who was lifelessly blinking up at the clouds. Nora could feel the group hold their breath. “This is going to be extremely painful Rachel, I’m talking like no pain you’ve ever felt before.” Of course there was no response, just more slow blinking from the injured soldier. Fatin reached behind her into Jeanette’s bag and briskly pulled out a shirt before rolling it into a ball.  
“Bite down on this, girl.” She jammed the cotton tee into Rachel’s mouth.  
“Okay guys, you’re gonna need to hold her down.” Dot was now beside Nora and unwrapping the bloody make-do gauze. Nora’s whole body was shaking and her tears were falling uninterruptedly like the stream of freshwater they had found days ago. Dramatic tremors exploded through her hands as she lowered herself down to Rachel’s forehead. “I love you Rach.” She choked out before placing a small kiss above her brow. Martha and Leah were now beside Fatin, squeezing Rachel’s limbs, trying to provide any comfort they could. Toni took Rachel’s arm and held it firmly in place, ready for Dot to lower the blade as Nora cradled Rachel’s face in her lap, stroking her cheeks.  
“Here we go guys. Get Ready Rachel.”

MARTHA  
The sound of searing flesh is a sound Martha would never forget. When the blade made contact with Rachel’s weeping wound her body convulsed, thrusting upwards as if a demon was being exorcised from her soul. The girls lurched forward, pinning her down with laudable force. Martha was crushed by the sight of Nora crying, wet eyes she’d never before seen shed tears. It made her cry, herself. She looked back to Rachel who was grimacing intensely with spit flying out from clenched teeth. Toni, Martha’s rock, was grimacing too, her eyes squeezed so tightly to the point of being almost shut, but they were open just enough to focus on holding Rachel’s arm still. Dot wore a similar expression as she raised on her knees and endured, endured, endured. Martha imagined childbirth to be the most intense scene to witness. This was unfathomably worse. Not a muscle in anyone’s body was unflexed. Not a single face wasn’t contorted. And when Dot brought that axe away, all that filled the ambient silence was Rachel’s soft whimpers. It was scary. Scary to see a girl with so much pent up rage on a regular basis be totally surrendered to her own agony. But then she said it and they all let out a breath. 

RACHEL  
“I’m okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading friends :) as i said lmk if u want anymore, u can also dm me on tumblr @superlxthor
> 
> have a beautiful day :D


End file.
